I'm asking this because up until recently I was convinced I was going to buy the game, but now... I don't know. I won't say I hated Reach, but it was easily my least favorite game in the series, and now Halo 4 (from all the gameplay I've watched) seems to be a love child of Halo 3, Reach, and Call of Duty. Of those three, I only have a strong appreciation from Halo 3 as it was the last multiplayer game that I sunk a significant amount of time into. That's not to say I didn't play Reach, but it didn't grab me the same way that Halo 3 did (and armor abilities felt like much more of a "hey this is kinda neat!" feature as opposed to something thoroughly balanced and well thought out). And as for Call of Duty... I'm just not a fan. I don't like the progression, I don't like loadouts, I don't like players choosing how they start. To put it simply: That's not why I grew to love Halo. I understand Halo needed to undergo certain changes in order to compete in today's FPS market, but I wish it would've been new ideas rather than ideas previously implemented in other games.

So anyone else in the same boat? What do you think you'll do?

tl;dr- Since Halo: Reach, I've realized I'm burnt out on the Halo series, and I can't decide whether or not I'm going to continue with Halo 4.

Halo has direct deposit to my money. So yes!

I didn't particularly care for Reach, either. I borrowed it and played through the campaign, which was fine, but that's about it. I'm definitely going to get Halo 4, though. Everything I've seen so far looks pretty rad. Ya know, looking back, I think ODST may have been my favorite in the series.

I think I'll wait for the time being. Despite the bombastic reviews from some websites, I really am disappointed about stuff like the Covenant being around since, thematically, the end of the War and truce with the Elites were such big moments in the narrative, and I had hoped the new enemies had a larger presence. I'm sure the game itself is going to be as fun as always, but I'm going to wait until a few friends have it.

@CrossTheAtlantic said:

I think I'll wait for the time being. Despite the bombastic reviews from some websites, I really am disappointed about stuff like the Covenant being around since, thematically, the end of the War and truce with the Elites were such big moments in the narrative, and I had hoped the new enemies had a larger presence. I'm sure the game itself is going to be as fun as always, but I'm going to wait until a few friends have it.

I wish I had friends that played Halo, otherwise I'd let one of them get it and fill me in. Anyway, I agree with what you said about the reviews too. I get that it's a new studio and you probably have to play it safe, but they had an opportunity to go for something new (which is kind of what I'm expecting [hoping?] for in Halo 5) and they decided against it. Disappointing choice if you ask me.

absolutely. this game seems to have gone in all the right directions for people who liked halo 3 and didnt like reach. i think reach was a good learning experience for every one involved. the main moral : dont half ass it.

It looks different enough that the comparison to reach isn't as accurate as you may think. I'm getting it since I love halo so it has never been a choice for me.

The lack of Firefight is a dealbreaker for me. That was the best part of Reach (and one of the only parts I really enjoyed). If I receive 4 as a gift, I won't complain, but I'm not going to buy it.

nope, Reach was the end for me.  

was burnt out before Reach actually and i got it just to make sure. 
cursed myself for not playing on normal and blasting through the game faster.

@Phatmac: I mean bloom is limited & grenades seem to be back to their Halo 3 form (and the armor abilities look a little more balanced, thus "cancelling out," if you will, Reach), but then my issue is from there, it goes into CoD territory. I dunno, maybe I'd like all of that with a Halo feel to it, but I'm skeptical.

Short answer:

No.

@TooWalrus said:

I didn't particularly care for Reach, either. I borrowed it and played through the campaign, which was fine, but that's about it. I'm definitely going to get Halo 4, though. Everything I've seen so far looks pretty rad. Ya know, looking back, I think ODST may have been my favorite in the series.

I love you.

But as for Halo4, I'm going to wait on it. I'm going to see the long term response from Halo fans and the MLG community, since they know what makes a good and bad Halo game than any journalist out there. We all thought Reach was awesome when it first came out, and now we despise it for its bloom, OP grenades, and armor lock. What problems will Halo4 have? We're going to have to see.

I thought Reach was a damn great game. I won't be getting Halo 4, 5 or 6 or any other non-Bungie Halo FPS that comes out.

I am the same with you OP, I enjoyed Halo 3A LOT, but Halo: Reach was "meh". I didn't hate Halo: Reach, but it was a sad end for Bungie's Halo. Having watched (not played) Halo 4 multiplayer, and reading the info posted on the Halo 4 wiki on Giant Bomb... I'm just thinking "why did Halo have to copy Call of Duty in terms of: Kill Cam, Customised Loadouts (as opposed to pre-set Loadouts in Halo: Reach), Lock all the emblems and weapons, and Spartan Ops (you mean Spec Ops, with a story)?"

I'm not hating on Halo 4, it just looks "meh" to me. If i wanted to play a game with those features, I'll play Call of Duty.

I will play it eventually to have a solid opinion on the game as a whole, but for now... no thanks.

@Tarsier said:

absolutely. this game seems to have gone in all the right directions for people who liked halo 3 and didnt like reach. i think reach was a good learning experience for every one involved. the main moral : dont half ass it.

Reach half assed it? What? In what department? It was the most complete Halo game to date, top to bottom. The amount of playability stuffed into that game is ridiculous.

@Tru3_Blu3 said:

We all thought Reach was awesome when it first came out, and now we despise it for its bloom, OP grenades, and armor lock. What problems will Halo4 have? We're going to have to see.

Opinions of course, but bloom is one of the best improvements the series has made. It feels like a natural evolution in the series and it adds a deeper level of skill to DMR(BR) duels. This perky/kill streak business in the new game is what's got me skeptical.

@Tru3_Blu3: Thinking about it, this is probably the course I'm going to take because it sounds like you & I had the same issues with Reach, and maybe the MLG playlist will be closer to Halo 3.

Hnghhhhh I don't know.

I pretty much hated every aspect of Reach's campaign, except for your customizable Spartan being part of the story. At this point I just have it so I have a pretty version of Blood Gulch at my beck and call.

Halo 4 looks interesting, the move back to Chief and crazy new alien chicanery seems like a better step, since the mystery and newness was what made Halo 1 so interesting. I'll probably get it eventually, just as I bought Halo 3 and ODST (which is probably the best one) on super sale.

Well I played a lot of Reach, so I wouldn't say I didn't like it. I didn't exactly love it though, but I'm buying Halo 4.

I'm hoping it addresses what was mechanically wrong with Reach's multiplayer and provides some well-designed maps. Not a fan of the uneven playing field unlocks philosophy they've gone for, but that's what the classic stripped-down Slayer Pro playlist is for.

They've said they're adding a ranking system later on too, so that's a good sign that they're listening to the competitive community.

as long as there is no armorlock than i'm happy. that crap was annoying

@Shaka999: yes because it cant be worse than Reach and this one actually looks great

It looks like multiplayer is returning to a faster-paced version of 3. No armor lock? Good enough. And I'm way interested in the story. But, not quite insane enough to go to the midnight launch tonight after hearing I'd need to get there at 9 to secure my place in the "first group" at midnight... that sounds a lot like work.

I didn't like 3, still bought ODST and Reach.

So, yeah.

I was on the fence, but as it gets closer I'm getting more excited.

Yup. I didn't finish Reach because it felt too "more of the same"-y (especially after the brilliant ODST campaign), but Halo 4 looks different enough to draw me back in, while still being a Halo-ass Halo.

Also: H4lo.

I also wasn't a huge fan of Reach, but I haven't actually played a ton of Halo since Reach came out so I find myself really wanting to dive back in now.

I liked Reach, loved the campaign, the mutiplayer had balance issues and poor maps but I still enjoyed it. I will be buying Halo 4.

@joshthebear said:

I was on the fence, but as it gets closer I'm getting more excited.

Same here.

For some reason I never get excited for a new Halo game until the next one is right about to come out. Happens every time.

I think it's worth noting OP, that from what I've read, they really stepped up their game in terms of armor powers and ordanance as features. Someone described it as "What Reach was trying to do, but failed. This time they succeeded". So I think you'll enjoy the game, it sounds like they addressed a lot of your concerns.

Personally, I didn't much care for reach, although I didn't hate it. It was just "decent". Barely played the multiplayer, I was just sick of the halo formula at the time. I DID hate ODST though, and thought Halo 3 was the definition of an "average" game.

I am definitely buying Halo 4. I feel enough time has passed that I'm ready to dig into a halo game again, and I'm pretty pumped for 2 hours from now.

Already did. The vids have hooked me back in. I think I've. Really only beaten Halo 1 and 3...

After watching the MLG dallas event with Halo 4, I am pretty pumped. Reach was a fun game and honestly, if a game is fun I have no problem with it. I do have to say though that while some of the armor abilities like sprint, the jetpack, decoy and even cloak brought a different feel to Halo that I think made the game more interesting. Armor lock though, really slowed down the pace of the game. It's used now for just trolling people. I like what I see from Halo 4 so yeah I'm going to buy it.

I fucking loved Reach top to bottom and I'm getting this. I always manage to forget how much I love Halo until about a week before release.

@Shaka999: Sit down, grab a coffee. I want to get to the bottom of this Reach-hatred.

Were you more into Halo: CE or Halo 2? What didn't you like about Reach?

@Hitchenson said:

I won't be getting Halo 4, 5 or 6 or any other non-Bungie Halo FPS that comes out.

That is fucking crazy-talk. Especially when so many of the really important dudes stayed back to form 343. Unless this is some sort consumer political message directed toward Microsoft and the whole 'superstudio initiative.'

Dont get peoples hate for the load out stuff in 4 when in reality its the best thing they could have done. It was either that or completely lose many guns.Also I support it just because it means I wont have to play stupid AR game types ever again.

The Chief's back, so yeah. Plus I loved Halo3..especially the mp and this seems like a return w/some mods/additions that look good tbh. Plus w/so much invested in this development I can't wait to see the product. Visually and aurally it'll have no peer on 360 is my guess.

Reach multiplayer was fantastic from a gameplay perspective, Reach's map design was utter shit. A handful of real maps and a metric fuck ton of forge maps recycled over and over again. God I hope 343 learned from that mistake Bungie made.

@RAMBO604 said:

Reach multiplayer was fantastic from a gameplay perspective, Reach's map design was utter shit. A handful of real maps and a metric fuck ton of forge maps recycled over and over again. God I hope 343 learned from that mistake Bungie made.

There are 10 base maps that all look completely varied and unique. And then 3 Forge maps that are equally varied. That would be 13 unique environmental palettes. I think the big problem will how frequently those 3 Forge maps and their creations work their way into the matchmaking system...

@project343: For the most part, it was the multiplayer that drove me away from Reach. The campaign was good for the most part(but I will say the final mission where you have to survive was a fantastic idea and closed the chapter for Bungie in brilliant way), I liked the improvements they made to Forge (I don't have the patience or time to learn how to use it though), and theater was better I guess?

My issues with multiplayer:

-Crouching with a DMR (pre patch) significantly decreased bloom, but only on the DMR. Makes the weapon overpowered & makes AR games impossible if the other team has decent map control

-Frag grenades were ridiculously OP

-Armor Lock had too many benefits and not enough drawbacks (and if an entire team uses it then god help you)

-Maps were absolutely horrid; I don't care what excuse you make, taking multiplayer maps from the campaign is straight up lazy

-Not crazy about armor abilities in general

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

@Shaka999: Okay, so you're mostly a hardcore Halo multiplayer guy. I can see why you might not like it.

I liked Reach, but I won't be buying Halo 4.

This is due to budgetary constraints, however.

I DO STILL BADLY WANT A HALO 2 HD REMAKE WITH FULL (ORIGINAL STYLE) MULTIPLAYER.

@Hitchenson said:

I won't be getting Halo 4, 5 or 6 or any other non-Bungie Halo FPS that comes out.

That is fucking crazy-talk. Especially when so many of the really important dudes stayed back to form 343. Unless this is some sort consumer political message directed toward Microsoft and the whole 'superstudio initiative.'

No, I just don't like the direction they've gone. I don't want killcams, perks and ordnance drops in my multiplayer, nor do I want custom weapon loadouts with CoD style unlocks. The removal of firefight grates me and I really liked how Reach and ODST went back to the shield/health kit formula, so don't fancy going back to shields only.

I'm not saying Halo 4's a bad game, I'm saying it's not the Halo for me. And there's no way I'd ever pay for a Gold sub ever again. With a campaign I'm not interested in one bit and no firefight, there's really no reason for me to get the game. I'll happily stay with CE through to Reach.

And "so many of the really important dudes" is a gross exaggeration.

The one positive I will give the game is graphically it looks pretty damn swell for a 360 game.

Liked the last few Halo games for the campaign & playing co-op with friends but no interest anymore with the multiplayer so for Halo4 I'll just rent it.

I've only played through Halo 3 and I didn't really like it that much. No more Halo games for me.